1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to a method for correcting an image, and more particularly, to a method for correcting a direction of a user's gaze from a display unit to a camera.
2. Description of the Related Art
In a video phone call and a video conference, due to the difference between a gaze direction of a user who stares at a camera and that of the user who stares at a display unit, a gaze direction of the user viewing the display unit may seem to be different for each position of the camera. When the camera is located in an upper left end of the display unit, a user viewing the display unit appears to gaze upon the lower right end of the display unit. When the camera is located in an upper right end of the display unit, a user viewing the display unit appears to gaze upon the lower left end of the display unit. When the camera is located in the upper middle end of the display unit, a user viewing the display unit appears to gaze upon the lower middle end of the display unit.
A gaze direction may be corrected using a comparison between two images that are input by two cameras mounted at upper and lower ends of a display unit, or at left and right ends thereof. A difference between the two images is analyzed, and an image which seems to look straight ahead (at a camera) is generated. In technologies that use a three-dimensional face model or a three-dimensional eye model, an image which looks straight ahead may be generated.
In attempts to solve the problem of gaze direction disparity, positions of the two cameras are mainly fixed. A distance between the user and each camera, and a difference between the gaze direction of the user to the display unit and that of the user to the camera are calculated. This causes the pose of the whole face to be changed, in order to solve the gaze direction disparity. In order to change the pose of the head of the user as described above, technology is required in which a face contour area must be separated from a background. A technology for automatically separating a face contour area from a background requires a significant amount or processing time, and does not have a sophisticated performance. The use of two cameras is also problematic. A portable communication terminal which enables a user to talk on the phone while the user moves, has a distance between the camera and the user and a background, which frequently changes. These factors can make it more difficult to utilize the portable communication terminal for a real-time video phone call, a mirror function, self-image capturing, etc.